Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid. FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a cloud 10 where several computers 20 share different resources 30.
Cloud computing is a paradigm shift following the shift from mainframe to client—server in the early 1980s. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources.
Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
“Cloud computing” is based on virtualization, which is a method of partitioning one physical server computer into multiple “virtual” servers, giving each the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine.
To achieve a higher degree of security and control of the virtual resources the concept of “virtual private cloud” has been introduced. A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a private cloud existing within a shared or public cloud.
To set-up a VPN connection from a mobile operator to any existing enterprise network or a “cloud” takes time and is costly. A specific Access Point Name (APN) in the mobile devices is required, and it is also needed to configure the VPN between an operator and an enterprises. An operator gateway uses the APN for selecting which network to connect to. As an example, machine-to-machine (M2M) devices will connect to the enterprise network via a specific APN. This is illustrated in FIG. 2, where Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices 115 of a 3G network 100 establish Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections 135 with which they can connect Local Area Networks (LAN) 160 of different enterprise networks 150. The M2M devices 110 are connected to the Internet via a gateway 120 referred to as a GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) in accordance with the Access Point Name (APN) 115 of the M2M device 110. As stated the VPN connections 135 are established with which the M2M device can connect to the LAN of the respective enterprise networks 150. The M2M devices can then interact with M2M applications 140 as they are located on the LAN 160.
There are basically two ways a VPN can be set-up between a device and an enterprise Local Area Network (LAN):
(1) A mobile device has been configured with an APN which points to the enterprise. An operator gateway, such as a GPRS Gateway Support Node, GGSN, will use this information to set-up a connection between the operator gateway and the enterprise. To do this, the operator gateway needs to exchange VPN parameters before the connection can be established. Examples of such parameters are address to an enterprise Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Radius Server, VPN Gateway, and VPN credentials to encrypt and authenticate. The GGSN needs to be configured with this. The configuration and the parameter exchange are often manual work which takes time and is therefore costly.(2) A mobile device uses an APN which points to the Internet as the network to connect to. This is used for mobile devices that would like to reach internet and surf. No special behavior regarding provisioning of APN is needed. However, it is required to provision VPN parameters in the mobile device and the provisioning to mobile devices is “costly”. Also the capacity demand on the mobile device increases when it has to encrypt/decrypt IP-packages and therefore a better Central Processing Unit (CPU) is required which increases the cost. In addition, since the CPU has to work harder due to the encryption/decryption, the CPU also drains the battery faster.